Smooth Like Butter: BTS Is First Music Act To Consecutively Win IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award - K LIFESTYLE

Their โ€œblood, sweat, and tearsโ€ have paid off.

The organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide awarded BTS its highest recognition for a second consecutive year.

READ ALSO: Itโ€™s Official: With 23 Guinness World Records, BTS Is Now A Hall Of Famer

Therefore, the South Korean boy band is the first music act to win the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Global Recording Artist of the Year Award back-to-back.

The award is calculated according to a music act’s worldwide digital and physical performance during the year. This covers their entire body of work, from streams to vinyl.

For the second year in a row, members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook had again topped the IFPI Global Artist Chart.

Dynamite

Their song “Butter” became an instant hit when they released it in May 2021. It charted #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for seven consecutive weeks.

They then replaced themselves at the top of the Hot 100 Chart by following up in July with “Permission to Dance.โ€ In September, their single “My Universe” with Coldplay also charted #1 in the United States.

Furthermore, they cemented their success globally by topping the Oricon Year End Album Chart with their Japanese-language album BTS, The Best. This marks the first time a non-domestic act has achieved the feat in 37 years.

Back home, the CD release of “Butter” topped the Gaon year-end charts in South Kore. This is the sixth year in succession that the group maintained its record with six separate releases.

โ€œWe heard this is the first time ever any artist received Artist of the Year two years in a row. So we feel blessed for such a significant title. Thank you, everyone, and especially our ARMY, of course, who enjoyed our music and cherished our music,โ€ leader RM said.

Idol

BTS has regularly joined the IFPI Global Artist Chart since 2018 when they entered #2.

They became the first Korean act and primarily non-English language performer to win the Artist of the Year award in 2020. That year, BTS released three record-breaking albums and was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the 63rd Grammy Awards. They are the first K-pop act to receive a nod from the Recording Academy.

โ€œBTSโ€™ phenomenal success over the last year is a testament to their creativity, hard work, and ongoing commitment to continuing to find ways to bring their music to the world. By performing in three different languages, they demonstrate their extraordinarily unique global appeal. And their dynamic and passionate fanbase has helped to make them the first artists in history to top the Global Artist Chart in two consecutive years,โ€ IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore said.

BTS was joined in this year’s chart by their K-pop colleague Seventeen, who made their first appearance at #9. The IFPI attributed this achievement to the “growing popularity of K-pop with music fans across the globe.”

Previous winners of the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award include Taylor Swift, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Adele, and One Direction.

Banner Photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC

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